A3 I was arrested

Narrator: Varinda S.
Reporter: Stefan Winkelbauer

My name is Varinda S. and I come from India. This story happened on 14 April, 1978. It happened in the city of Amritsar in a state called Punjab in India near the border to Pakistan. Amritsar is the cultural center of the Sikh religion. There is a big Sikh Temple. In this city there live ninety percent of Sikh and eight percent of Hindu religion.

Hinduistic people started shooting and thirteen Sikhs were killed near the temple. At that time the Sikhs didn't have guns. The conflict escalated and the military and the police took part in the fighting. This was the beginning of a civil war between the government of India and the Sikh minority. Many thousands were killed.

On the 3rd of June the Sikhs had a religious festival. Many men, woman and children took part in this festival. Government troops started shooting at the people. Many woman and children were killed. The main leader of the Sikhs was killed, too.

After the tragedy the Sikhs founded a new party: the All Indian Sikh Student Federation, a peaceful and liberal party. They want to have there own state. I worked in this party for two years. My friends and I were arrested and put to prison because of our activities and the party was forbidden. My friends gave some money to the prison and I became free. After that I ran away to Thailand and then to Russia and to Europe. I haven't seen my father, mother, brother and sister for ten years.